We took the new cool bird ears out for a test drive. They were wonderful. I don’t recognize the sound of each bird now, because the sounds are all a lower pitch, but I can tell when birds are around and I can tell which way to look. When Becky came out to visit a few weeks ago, we went to Anzalduas Park, down on the Rio Grande. While we were out walking around, Becky commented on how loud the bugs were; that it was almost painful. Neither Judy nor I heard a sound. But now out on a walk, switch the device off, it’s a silent forest, switch it back on and the air is suddenly filled with insects, frogs, and the occasional bird sound. There are headphones on my head and a small controller in my shirt pocket. There are tiny microphones on each earpiece of the headset, so this setup is wonderfully directional. I can’t tell exactly how high a bird is, but I can sure zero in on the direction. These headphones will be my constant birding companion from now on.